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>> reporter: last month, this young woman talked to abc's david wright. >> i was sold for sex by the hour at truck stops and cheap motels. >> reporter: she said pimps use craigslist to sell her for sex. >> the "world news" story actually helped because it built a public sympathy that pushed craigslist to shut their adult services section down and to help young people understand that people actually care and want them to get help. >> the website stands to lose a lot of money here. the adult services section was expected to bring in $45 million this year. linsey davis, abc news, new york. top u.s. military commanders in afghanistan are warning that plans by a florida church to burn copies of the koran could endanger the lives of american soldiers. that warning comes amid angry anti-american protests in afghanistan. demonstrators are enraged at the announcement of the planned koran burning which will coincide with the commemoration of the 9/11 attacks this weekend. the gainesville church has been denied a permit for the bonfire

but says it will go ahead with it anyway. investigators in west virginia are trying to figure out the cause of a fire which killed 27 race horses. four barns near the racetrack in charles town burned to the ground. workers described a frantic scene as they tried to pull horses to safety as the fire spread. they were able to save nearly 30 of the animals. san francisco police have arrested a daredevil climber who managed to scale a 58-story downtown building. stuntman dan goodwin, also known as skyscraper man, managed to climb up the city's millennium tower and unfurl an american flag at the top. it took good conserve win about three hours to scale the 645-foot residential building. goodwin used suction cups, not ropes, for that big climb. >> nothing stopped him. here's another impressive man. a southern california man is nurse something sore feet this morning after setting a new world record for running in the sand. >> christian burke began his trek in hermosa beach at noon on

sunday and ran for 24 straight hours. his idea was to raise money for the town's cash-poor schools which face a nearly $700,000 budget shortfall. >> at about the 15-hour mark, burke had logged 62 miles, breaking the record word. raised about $5,000. it's one thing to just run long distances, then on sand on top of that, it's really impressive. >> more "world news now" right after this. z diabetics on medicare!

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now a warning to anyone out there that has been issued a corporate credit card. last year alone, employees charged $140 billion on them. >> what happens to that balance if your company goes out of business? the responsibility, it's yours.

elisabeth leamy has the story. >> reporter: plane tickets. hotel rooms. taxicabs. office supplies. building supplies. party supplies. all things your company could ask you to charge. but we ware. if you use a corporate credit card, there's a chance you could be stuck with the bill. >> i was beside myself. >> reporter: charlie higis used to work for a company that manufactured duck hunting decoys. when the company went under, charlie felt like he was the one being hunted over his $10,000 company credit card tab. >> there was absolutely no communication at all indicating that i would be liable for a credit card that i was using that belonged to a corporation that i worked for. >> reporter: but according to rpmg research, 35% of corporate cards have individual or joint liability arrangements where the employee is responsible for the debt. and believe it or not, large

companies, including many fortune 500 firms, are the most likely to make their employees personally liable for their company card. >> this is just so destructive to individuals like myself who had no idea that this could happen. >> reporter: charlie's employer had never paid his final bill. he found out when he got turned down for a personal loan and the loan officer told him he had a lousy credit score. >> i just went numb. i said -- i said to her, you must be looking at the wrong credit report. >> reporter: the thought of paying your company's delinquent debt is bad enough. but the impact on your credit score is even worse. charlie's score plunged more than 100 points, causing a ripple effect he says cost him tens of thousands in lost business opportunities. he's hoping to find an attorney to help him sue. >> the credit score had been destroyed, my life had been destroyed. i basically lost everything. >> reporter: charlie's not alone.

the legal website avvo.com has seen a huge uptick in questions about corporate card liability since the recession hit. >> the credit card company can come after your company, the one that issued the corporate credit card, or they can come after you personally, and that's where a lot of people get confused and hurt. >> reporter: credit.com offers red flags you may be personally responsible for your corporate card debt. if the card shows up on your credit report. if you are required to pay the bill yourself and then get reimbursed. and if you provided personal financial information to get the card. >> where the bells and whistles and red flags and flashing lights should go off is if you're the one filling out the application and you're signing, you're giving your social security number. >> reporter: that's when a company card becomes less of a privilege and more of a problem. elisabeth leamy, abc news. >> the scary ting here is that these business cards are not protected by that federal credit card bill that just passed.

credit card companies are even marketing to people, trying to give them corporate cards even though they may not qualify for it, because it skirts the new law. >> a little bit of a trap. go to abcnews.com. we've got all these great tips in case the credit card companies are coming after you and what to do if it hurts your credit. protecting your credit is of the utmost importance. >> anything credit card, be careful. the internet sensation that women are going nuts over. >> it is the dirty secret behind facebook's farmville when we come back. man on radio: mission is a go. you are good to go. so, have you made your decision yet? yeah, i think so. the wishes of thousands of children are waiting to come true. you can make it happen. find out how today at wish.org.

now to a story about the facebook phenomenon farmville. it has turned millions of everyday web surfers massachusetts virtual farmers. >> but are the hours spent raising cattle and tending crops

turning the seemingly harmless game into an addiction? here's claire shipman. >> reporter: maybe we've been yearning to get back to our roots, back to a simpler way of life. maybe it's just a lot of fun. whatever the reason, life on the virtual farm via a wildly popular online game has now entranced some 80 million players worldwide. more than half of them women. >> my husband walks past me and just says, you've got to be kidding action you're on farmville again? >> reporter: farmville is now facebook's most popular app. >> this is part of my farm. >> reporter: for maria, tending crops, buying animals, expanding her empire has become an obsession. >> right here is my plants which are ready to be harvested. >> reporter: she works part-time and has two children but still manages to get on farmville, where she can even sell her crops to friends online. >> i go on at least twice a day. >> definitely more than three

times a day. i do like five. she'll like go on first when i come home, then she'll be like, can you get off for a second so i can go on? >> reporter: it's the first time maria has ever played a social game. at age 49 she represents a growing demographic. the average social gamer isn't a young male huddled in the family den, but rather, a 43-year-old woman who increasingly can move from obsession to addiction. >> they have tried to stop, they couldn't. they've tried to put time limits on their farmville use but they couldn't. >> reporter: that was marianne thomas' life. >> i did feel like i was addicted to farmville. i'd play it in the morning, in the evenings, all during the day. i gained probably at least ten pounds. >> reporter: the only way she could get her life back to normal was by quitting the game cold turkey. >> it's a lot better around here since i quit playing farmville. >> a lot of people say, i can quit any time i want to, i just

don't want to. but oftentimes they can't stop, they crave it. >> reporter: since i'm part of the new farmville demographic i decided i'd get the help of a gaming expert, my son hugo. show me how it's done. >> we need to plow this one. >> it tells you when it needs plowing? we would have to pay $50 to get 310 points. can we use your allowance money? >> no! mom! >> the only problem i can see with this is that i think i'd be tempted to spend a lot of my money buying seeds and plants. and i don't think my husband would be very happy. >> i can see that. >> reporter: in fact, 15% of those 80 million farmville players do spend real money on the game. 5% spend at least $20 a month. that pay to play option, along with advertising revenue, has helped build a very profitable business for farmville's parent company zenya, which is expected to make $450 million this year alone. farmville outsiders don't understand the fuss. >> i don't understand why you want to build a farm.

i just don't. >> some of your friends play farmville? >> yes, it's stupid. >> my brother is a junior in high school, he loved it, his friends were the first ones to tell me about it. my parents will be like telling me about their friends who are trying to get them to play farmville. >> reporter: compulsion or ho y hobby, maria isn't quite sure. >> i would just say that i like it. pure and simple, i like it. i like gardening, i like animals, both items are there. addicting? i hope not. >> reporter: claire shipman, washington. >> all right, i'm a gardener too but i can't relate to this. what cracks me up is the pay to play option. just in time for the holidays, target has announced they're going to start selling facebook credit gift cards so you can go on and buy -- >> the gift that just keeps on giving, farmville. never would have guessed. what is this thing going on? now i know. man. anything these days. her after this, everybody.

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finally this half hour, the royal scandal rocking a london newspaper. england's "news of the world" is known for its tabloid reporting. >> now it's the one in the headlines after allegedly tapping the cell phones of princes william and harry. here's miguel marquez. >> reporter: when prince williams pulled a tendon and the story ended up in "the news of the world" he wondered how. when prince harry visited a strip club the same tabloid quoted verbatim a teasing message left by his older brother on his cell phone. "the news of the world" claims it was all the work of one rogue employee and a private investigator, who were beth jailed for hacking into the phones of royal aides.

but the accusations continued. claims the celebrity power couple, david and victoria beckham's messages were intercepted. model elle mcpherson's phone too. >> such was the culture of intimidation and bullying that you would do it. >> reporter: during a lengthy investigation the "new york times" spoke to a former news of the world reporter who says he hacked into phones, his editor knew it, and that editor now works for the british government. what started off as another nasty tabloid story in london quickly became a hot political issue. because the former editor of "news of the world," andy coulsen, is now the communications director for the prime minister. >> nor do i have any recollection of instances where phone hacking took place. >> i have stood by andy and been requested to tap phones or hack into them. he was well aware that the practice exists. >> reporter: in parliament, the conservative home secretary, the

nation's top cop, deflected calls for a new investigation. but the left-leaning labor party here smells blood. >> surely if this affair rumbles on will the prime minister come and make a statement, relieving coulsen of his job? >> reporter: a tabloid scandal where the tabloid is the headline and has the potential to become the first political scandal for the new government here. miguel marquez, abc news, london. >> what a scary thought, a scary world. people can hack into your cell phone messages now. >> exactly. verbatim. that's the news for this half hour. coming up, more news from abc. >> remember, follow us on facebook where you can check out "the skinny" and "morning papers" there any time. check out wnnfans.com.

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the burning debate over burning the koran. >> islam is an evil religion. >> muslims are protesting and u.s. military leaders say his plans aren't good for american troops. then, job hunting. as president obama unveils new plans to boost the economy, why is it so hard for some who want to work to actually find a job? and, a remarkable reunion. >> i'm your daughter. >> it happened in a hospital room completely by surprise, and just in the nick of time. it's tuesday, september 7th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." good morning, i'm meg oliver. vinita nair is on vacation. >> i'm rob nelson. good morning, everybody. we begin with the florida minister's controversial call to burn the koran this saturday on the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. >> the plan is drawing protests from around the world, and now the american commander in

afghanistan says it could put u.s. troops in harm's way. martha raddatz reports from kabul. >> reporter: the crowd in downtown kabul reached nearly 500, with protesters chanting "long live the koran." an effigy of pastor terry jones from the tiny florida church was lit on fire. the protesters well aware of the pastor's inflammatory comments. >> islam is an evil religion. >> reporter: but anger has spread far beyond pastor jones, with chants of "death to america" echoing through the crowd. minutes later, rocks were hurled at a passing u.s. military convoy. the u.s. commander in afghanistan, general david threat to burn the koran, saying in a statement that it could endanger troops and it could endanger the overall effort here." we spoke in kabul with the former vice chief of staff of the army.

>> it is outrageous and it is insulting to muslims. but it's also insulting to our soldiers in terms of what they stand for and what their commitment is to this country and to the muslims in this country. >> reporter: pastor terry jones vowed he would go ahead with the koran burning. >> what we are doing is long overdue. we're revealing again the violence of islam that is much, much deeper than we would like to admit. >> reporter: jones has gotten more than 8,000 followers on facebook. but a page condemning him has 20 times that number. that has not calmed the protesters in kabul, and there are fears that the protest plans for tuesday could be even larger. martha raddatz, abc news, kabul. tropical storm hermine is making her presence known this morning after slamming into mexico's northern gulf coast. the storm is now aiming at south texas. hermine is already churning up the waters from brownsville to galveston along the texas coast and it's already created

dangerous conditions for beachgoers. the storm is packing heavy rain and winds up to 65 miles an hour. forecasters say hermine will drop up to 1 foot of rain in spots today. >> good luck to those folks today. plenty wet along the rest of the gulf coast today with showers extending from louisiana into georgia along with most of florida. rainy conditions in the pacific northwest and the great lakes. we'll get winds up to 45 miles an hour along with some showers. >> and it will be hot today along the entire east coast. mostly in the high 80s. 10 degrees above average in some spots. another major hot spot, the southwest. in other news now, president obama is set to unveil his latest proposal to boost the nation's sagging economy. the president will propose that businesses be able to write off all new investments in plant and equipment through the end of next year. that would be a business tax cut of up to $200 billion over two years. yesterday the president called for a $50 billion plan to rebuild the nation's

infrastructure. >> we are going to rebuild 150,000 miles of our roads. that's enough to circle the world six times. that's a lot of roads. we're going to lay and maintain 4,000 miles of our railways. enough to stretch coast to coast. we're going to restore 150 miles of runways. >> the president noted that during the recession back in the early '80s, it took the average american looking for work about three months to find a job. this time around, it is taking a lot longer. here now is chris bury. >> reporter: beverly wytrack, 32, two kids, college degree. how long have you been out of work? >> about a year, a little over a year. >> reporter: like beverly, a project manager, nearly half of those looking for work have been unemployed at least six months. how many jobs have you applied for? >> 300 or 400. >> reporter: her computer crammed with rejections from a frustrating job hunt. >> i assumed it would take a month or two, maybe three. >> reporter: now she supports

her family on unemployment benefits. $971 every two weeks. pride kept her from food stamps until her savings ran out two months ago. >> you're in the store and you don't want people to know. >> reporter: in past downturns job hunters have bounced back far more quickly. in 1976 it took under ten weeks on average. 1983, 12 weeks. '94, 10 weeks. nearly 26 weeks to find a job. >> not only does it increase the costs to society of supporting those who are unemployed, it also increases the anxiety of those who are employed, which means they're going to save more and spend less, which makes the recovery even weaker. >> reporter: now beverly frets about losing her home on a block dotted with others for sale, so she keeps on looking. >> you can't give up. you know, somebody's hiring out there. somebody will give me a job. >> reporter: this recession, so different, so difficult, as all

those months without work take their toll. chris bury, abc news, summit, illinois. a powerful wildfire that started in the foothills of colorado is continuing to spread. and now officials say that at least 1,000 homes have to be evacuated. the fire started yesterday northwest of boulder. since then, winds of up to 45 miles an hour have spread flames in several directions. so far, luckily, no injuries have been reported. >> lucky indeed there. all right, a certain statue in san diego might as well be called rodney dangerfield. because just can't get any respect. >> it's supposed to pay homage to surfing but instead people continue to mock it. the statue known as the carlsbad zorro, clad in a cape, sword and a hat with a red feather. it's also been dressed up as jaws, it's been decorated for halloween and christmas, and it's been turned into uncle sam as well. >> the artist who is a surfer is not amused. he calls the impromptu

adornments an insult. heck, think he's got to put a positive spin on it. look at all the attention he's getting. people are coming by, taking pictures. >> it's a surfer, not a former president. relax, dude, surf's up. more after this. [ female announcer ] fact.

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the planet's tropical rain forests are some of the most precious parts of nature. they're home to millions of species, some never seen before on tv. >> one of those elusive animals has been the tree kangaroo, that is, until now. dan harris reports now from new guinea. >> reporter: if you want to get a real close-up look at what's

known as the ghost of the forests, one of the most rare, beautiful, and elusive creatures on earth, the tree kangaroo, you have to climb way, way up into a towering tree. >> then one guy will climb up close to her, and he'll make noise so that she'll come down. >> she'll jump? >> yes. >> reporter: the tree kangaroo and the man trying to scare her down are so high up that we can barely see them from the ground. >> she's going to try to get away. okay, okay. >> reporter: she jumps, free-falls right out of the tree. >> there we go. >> reporter: it may be 100 feet to the ground. >> easy. easy. she's big. >> reporter: before we tell you how this turns out, here's how we got here. we have choppered into a cloud forest in the mountains of papua new guinea.

our guide is lisa daybeck, an american biologist who has dedicated her life to saving the tree kangaroo. >> just be really careful. there's holes. >> reporter: she first saw these animals 20 years ago at a zoo in the u.s. >> i fell in love with them then. plus they're beautiful. the more i learned about them the more i knew that i wanted to help them. >> is it true that you went eight years without seeing one in the wild? >> yes. >> reporter: finally a few years ago daybeck and her team managed to get radio collars on some treeroos. >> it's so hard to find them. >> she's tearing right out of there. >> good. she's saying, hi, dan. okay, okay, there she goes. >> reporter: that's when the guy up in the tree gets close enough for her to jump. once she's on the ground, the men rush in to grab her by the tail. >> easy, easy. easy. >> reporter: there's a field veterinarian here to make sure the animal is okay and to check

if she has a baby in her pouch. >> no? okay, good. whew. okay. so now they're going to put her in a burlap bag and she's going to try to get away as much as possible. she's okay. she's okay. all right. good girl. >> reporter: lisa daybeck is clearly relieved. as a conservationist, forcing an animal out of a tree and into a bag runs counter to her every instinct. >> okay, okay. good fellow, hello. >> she is cute. >> she's beautiful. >> reporter: but she believes the more we know about how these mysterious, endangered animals live and eat and breed, the easier it will be to protect them here in the wild. they put on a tiny camera. >> great. >> good girl. >> good girl. we have no idea what they do up top in the canopy. we want to see what fruit plants

they eat. >> reporter: papua new guinea is one of the only places on earth you can see tree kangaroos. not long ago these villagers we're with used to hunt and eat tree kangaroos. with daybeck's help they've now set aside huge tracts of land to protect the animals. if these guys were not sitting beside the land what would happen to the tree kangaroos? >> they might be hunted out. >> reporter: the next day we go out to look for another tree kangaroo. a few days ago the team fitted the animal with a camera. >> she's definitely here. she's beautiful. >> there she goes. >> reporter: another free-fall. >> is she okay? >> yes. >> good girl. >> reporter: and so, under a tarp in the pounding rain, the team stares rapt as they're allowed for the first time into the private world of the reclusive animal they've all

spent years of their lives trying to understand and protect. the camera belongs to national geographic. they call it their critter cam. lisa daybeck tears up as she watches. she was told this could never be done. but now she is witnessing a breakthrough 15 years in the making. >> wow. that was great. >> reporter: this is dan harris in papua new guinea. >> what an incredible story there. what incredible dedication that woman has to the tree kangaroo. for 15 years of her life she dedicated herself to it. went eight years not even seeing one of those things. that's crazy. >> she got emotional watching everything. what really impressed me were the villagers. so skilled in climbing the trees and helping in the process. >> another job i would not want.

it's our favorite part of the show, come on. >> oh, yes, everyone's favorite part of the show. you can always catch it on facebook. you need a good laugh, this is the story of the day. simon cowell left "american idol" to go to a new talent show called "the x factor" over in the uk. these two teenage girls get onstage, abby and lisa, doing their rendition of their song. and apparently they start off sweet, happy to be here, living the dream, blah, blah, blah. things get nasty as the performance goes on. take a look at how things progress on this new show. ♪ ♪ i'm not giving up oh no >> singing is not great. >> who are you? ♪ i'm going to get in trouble, i'm going to start a fight ♪ >> all right, let's recap that

little nugget. first of all, the girl says to her, who are you? that was singer natalie rulio who had a big hit a couple of years ago. decks her while walking offstage. the other girl flips the audience the bird. these obviously were not the most dainty women. >> no, this is kind of like "jerry springer" meets "jersey shore." you know who's loving it all. >> simon cowell. lots of controversy, lots of money in the bank. you have the worst attitude of any contestant i've ever met on any of these shows. seriously, seriously rude. >> seriously. >> seriously. simon calls you rude, whoa. >> whoa, all right. move on to wyclef jean. we know he was running for president of haiti. it's been a little bit of a brouhaha with sean penn. sean penn went after him and head his campaign was basically all about a vision of flying around the world, talking to people. jean came back and said that he

was -- sean penn was too busy sniffing cocaine to see me in haiti. obviously under the belt there. penn's rep shot back at his comments, found them highly irresponsible and false and that he does not understand volunteer work down there, it's strenuous and no time for recreational drugs. >> sean is a tough dude, i don't think you want to engage him and egg him on. not that wyclef couldn't handle himself but you never know how he'd retaliate against that. >> exactly. >> let it go. they didn't let you run. i'm sure he'll have a response, he's not shy responding. apparently there's a new autobiography coming out for lady gaga, the big pop star these days. she's huge. the thing is coming out later on this month. well, in this new autobiography, the claim actually she suffers from an eating disorder. actually her former tour manager named david has said that the 24-year-old singer would literally scarf down unhealthy food then stop eating for weeks at a time to fit into her elaborate, crazy costumes. she reportedly lost 20 pounds in

between fittings, was hospitalized six times in 2009 to deal with her battles with food and potential disorder. now no response from her just yet. but you know, she kind of blamed jet lag for some of her health issues, that kind thing. we'll see what official response she has with this auto biography. coming out in just a few days on the 14th. she's admitted to drug use, now this. i know she's hugely popular. better watch out. some of the things going on in her personal life. >> kind of want her to be healthy. let's get to the kardashians. >> always. >> there is a big scoop going on from last night's show. and all the ladies out there, listen up. if you are engaged or married, you hold on to your left hand pretty closely. apparently kim didn't, because she lost -- >> khloe. >> she lost lamar odom's $850,000 engagement ring.

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and here are some stories to watch today on abc news. president obama proposes some new tax write-offs for businesses that invest in new plant and equipment through the end of the year. also we'll get an update on the progress of construction at new york's world trade center site. nearly nine years after it was destroyed in the 9/11 attacks. while those 33 miners in chile wait to be rescued, members of a nasa team will discuss their recent work at the mine site. they have been helping develop a plan for maintaining all those miners' health. and finally this half hour, the amazing story of a patient at a new york hospital and his nurse. >> incredible story here. when that man checked into the hospital, he never could have imagined that while there he would find something he lost a long time ago. here now is jeremy hubbard. >> i love you. >> i love you too. >> reporter: family circumstance tore them apart. now a miraculous coincidence has brought them back together.

when victor peraza came to this new york city hospital two weeks ago, a veteran nurse named wanda took note of her new patient's name. she told the story on "good morning america." >> doctor mentioned his name and i completely froze. i was stunned. and i said, i have to go into this room and look at this patient. i said, what are your children's names? right away he said, i have a daughter named wanda. and the second he said that i just -- burst out crying. i ran out of the room. >> reporter: it was her father who had walked out of her life in 1969. he and her mother married young. there were problems and they split up when wanda was just a baby. >> i came back into the room, i said, hi, i'm wanda. i'm your daughter. i'm your daughter. and he said -- he said, i know you're my daughter. and within less than five minutes i just gave him the biggest kiss and the biggest hug because i was so happy to finally meet my dad. >> reporter: in the tear-filled days that have followed wanda

has introduced victor to the grandchildren he never knew. she's given him something he never expected -- forgiveness. >> we're not going to draw on the past because that's not important. he's here. and we're just going to enjoy the short time that we're going to have together. >> reporter: their time together is short because victor is terminally ill. he's being treated here for the final stages of cancer. he turned 61 later this week. and wanda just prays he'll make it until then. hopeful she'll finally get to celebrate a birthday with her father. jeremy hubbard, abc news, new york. >> you don't believe in miracles after that? >> that is one. >> that is. >> she has the right attitude. some people would be upset. you walked on me x number of years ago. >> exactly. >> but she said, you know, what >> exactly. >> but she said, you know, what let's make peace and enjoy the thank you dear, very much.

president obama's tough sell. he's talking about the economy but our new polls show that most americans are not liking what he has to say. hermine arrives, bringing plenty of rain to the texas coast. >> we expect a whole lot more of that through the night and in the early morning. >> our reporter's near where the storm made landfall. and, seeking justice for a campus assault. >> she said, you know what, mom, i just want to lay down and take a nap. >> but that was not how the day ended. it's tuesday, september 7th. >> from abc news, this is "world news now." >> and a really heartbreaking story about that assault on campus. proving again what a major, major problem at colleges all around the country, people getting assaulted. >> wait until you get the statistics. one of five women will be the victim of rape or attempted rape on campus.

that's just startling. >> that is frightening. stay tuned for that. good morning, everybody, i'm rob nelson. >> i'm meg oliver sitting in for vinita nair. the white house is ready to reveal the latest plan for reviving the economy. this one would give businesses and corporations a tax cut which could add up to $200 billion in the next two years. >> during a campaign-style stop in wisconsin yesterday, the president offered yet another proposal. jonathan karl reports. >> reporter: talking to union workers in wisconsin, the president promised an unrelenting focus on the economy. >> i am going to keep fighting every single day, every single hour, every single minute, to turn this economy around and put people back to work and renew the american dream. >> reporter: he came armed with a new proposal. $50 billion in new spending on transportation projects. enough, he said, to rebuild 150,000 miles of highways, 4,000 miles of railroad tracks. >> i want america to have the best infrastructure in the world.

>> reporter: the plan, however, was immediately condemned by republicans in congress. we don't need more government stimulus spending, said republican house leader john boehner. we need to end the washington democrats' out of control sending spree. anticipating that reaction, the president hammered republicans for opposing him on absolutely everything. >> if i said the sky was blue, they'd say no. fy said fish live in the sea, they'd say no. >> reporter: but white house officials acknowledge the plan would not create jobs until sometime next year at the earliest. and they declined to say how many jobs would be created. the problem for democrats, there is no quick economic fix. >> these proposals are not big and bold, they're not going to lift the economy quickly. i don't think there's anything the president or congress can come up with that would provide a big jolt to the economy by election day. >> reporter: bold or not this latest proposal from the

president is unlikely to pass congress any time soon. for the next 60 days, this will be the season of campaigning, not for passing new economic programs. jonathan karl, abc news, the white house. with those elections now fast approaching a new abc news poll shows some major challenges ahead for the democrats. likely voters now favor the republican candidate in their congressional district by 53% to 40%, a record margin. more voters, 33% to 30%, say the president has made the economy worse. the number of voters who say he helped the economy has now dropped 9 points since the spring. for the first time in an abc news poll, a majority of voters disapprove of the way mr. obama is handling his job overall. the good news is that what was hurricane hermine is now a tropical storm. the bad news, it's still packing plenty of punch as it moves into south texas. ryan owens is right in hermine's path with details on what's expected today. good morning, ryan.

>> reporter: good morning, rob and meg. from south padre island, texas, this tropical storm has just made landfall about 40 miles to the south of here in mexico. the results here in south texas, as you can see, we are getting some winds but nothing too terribly strong. we do see the waves kicking up behind me. that's fairly obvious. in addition, 8 inches, perhaps as much as 1 foot of rain across northern mexico and extreme south texas. keep in mind this is the same area that was hit by hurricane alex. that storm actually stalled over this area and caused some severe flooding. at this point, this particular storm is moving pretty fast. the hope here is that it will not stall, that it will move on and bring that rain elsewhere, up to northern parts of texas, into parts of oklahoma. if it does stall, like alex did, that will mean big trouble for the folks in south texas. so far, just some rain, some high surf, certainly some wind. but nothing terribly significant.

they're hoping this is the worst of it. back to you, meg and rob. >> all right, thanks for that. now the rest of the day's forecast shapes up like this. some wet weather along the rest of the gulf coast, stretching from louisiana into georgia and nearly all of florida. also expect rain, heavy wind, along with cooler conditions in the upper midwest and great lakes area. >> the entire eastern seaboard will see high 80s and even some 90s after a few days of cooler temperatures. hot and dangerously dry in most of the southwest. a powerful wildfire that started in the foothills of colorado is spreading. now officials say at least 1,000 homes have had to be evacuated. the fires started yesterday in four-mile canyon northwest of boulder. since then winds up to 45 miles an hour have spread those flames in several directions. so far, no injuries have been reported. an indonesian volcano that erupted last week for the first time in 400 years is spewing even more black ash today.

the mt. sinabung volcano sent ash and sand shooting three miles high. the strength of the eruption could be felt as far as five miles away. the volcanic activity has led to the evacuation of up to 10,000 people. billionaire george soros is making his biggest gift yet. this morning's "new york times" reports soros is giving $100 million to human rights watch, the largest donation that group has ever gotten. soros, who turned 80 last month, said this is just the first in a series of large gifts he intends to make. jerry lewis, he was at it again, raising big bucks for charity. contributions and pledges from this year's labor day event totaled almost $60 million. the money goes to the muscular dystrophy association. >> that amount is down a little from last year but lewis said he is pleased with the funds drive, especially considering these hard economic times. the 84-year-old lewis has been hosting that telethon for more

than 40 years. and god knows how much money at this point. >> he's still got that big smile, a lot of energy, still giving it his all. >> all for a great cause. more after this, everybody, stay with us.

welcome back, everybody. what you're looking at now is extremely rare color footage of a ravaged london during world war ii. the film's release coincides with the 70th anniversary of the nazi bombing campaign known as the blitz. the film was recently found in an attic in london and shows several city landmarks destroyed. those raids started back on this very day in 1940. >> color too. that's pretty impressive. all right, now to that royal

scandal rocking a london newspaper. england's "news of the world" is known for their tabloid reporting. >> now they are the ones making the headlines after allegedly tapping the cell phones of princes william and harry. the bbc's james landell reports. >> reporter: it's a story of illegal phone hacking involving the police, the royal family, and britain's biggest-selling newspaper. at its heart is this man. andy coulson, one of david cameron's closest advisers, once the editor of "news of the world." mr. coulson resigned in 2007 after his royals reporter was convicted of illegally listening in to people's voice mail messages. but he said he was not aware of what was going on. in recent days, though, one of his former colleagues, sean hall, later sacked from the paper, claimed the practice was widespread and mr. coulson was aware of it. in the commons, labor stepped up the pressure. >> the home secretary and the

deputy prime minister have lectured the house many times about their perception of the surveillance state created by the previous government. it appears, mr. speaker, they may have their very own expert on the matter in charge of government communications. the exact parallel, said the secretary of state for energy and climate change, is surely damian mcbride. if gordon brown right to sack him, shouldn't he sack coulson? >> the integrity of our democracy is under scrutiny around the world, mr. speaker. the home secretary must not join the conspiracy to make it a laughingstock. >> operational matters such as this, whether to investigate particular individuals, are a matter for the police. we should jealously guard the operational intent. >> reporter: police have been accused by labor mps of dragging their feet. but promised to give the claims a fresh look. >> we've heard what mr. hall's

had to say. we've been in touch with the "new york times" many months prior to the publication of the article seeking any new material or new evidence they had. it is new and we'll be considering it and we'll be obviously consulting with the crime prosecution service before we do. >> reporter: in a statement mr. coulson's rep said mr. coulson emphatically denies these allegations. he has, however, offered to talk to officers if the need arises and would welcome the opportunity to give his view on mr. hoare's claims. david cameron appointed mr. coulson knowing his past, gave him his full support, with conservatives lining up to accuse labor of playing politics. labor say there are questions for downing street and the police to answer and they look set to keep asking them. >> it's a scary thought that your cell phone message can be hacked, what can be learned from all that. they say this is as high up in the palace as it could have gone. the queen and charles don't use their cell phones regularly but the princes obviously do. >> you really don't see prince charles on the phone with the queen which is probably a good

thing. when we come back, why on campus sexual assaults are going mostly unreported. >> you're watching "world news now."

welcome back on this tuesday morning, everybody. as some teenagers head to college for the first time, their safety of course is on the minds of their parents. rightfully. understandably so. >> absolutely. in a chilling report by the center for public integrity, most universities and colleges underreport campus sexual assaults. cynthia mcfadden reports. >> she had beautiful freckles. i used to tell her she was kissed by the sun. >> reporter: cindy mcgrath lives every day with a tragedy. >> this is her first holy communion. she looked like an angel.

>> reporter: made worse by her deep sense it could have all been avoided. >> she broke down. and she said, mom, i've been raped. i've been raped. >> reporter: her daughter, megan wright, was a shy, pretty freshman here at dominican college. a small catholic school in orangeburg, new york. less than an hour from manhattan. >> it was almost like she would have gone into a fetal position if she could have. >> reporter: megan told her mother she believed she was drugged and then raped by multiple men after attending a party in her dorm in may 2006. this surveillance video shows a disoriented, seemingly impaired megan being led in and out of a room by several different men, some students, some not. the following morning she told her best friend, kelly, what had happened. >> she just kind of stood there and then said, i think i was raped last night. >> what did you say? >> i asked her how she felt. she said that there was blood in her underwear. we got up and went to the

hospital by my house. did a rape kit. her face was just in so much pain as they were doing everything. >> reporter: a devastating violation for any woman. but according to megan's brother, sean, even more traumatic for a girl as innocent and reserved as megan. >> she wasn't a party girl? >> no, no, not at all. that would be a little shocking to see her at a party, actually. >> boy crazy? >> no, no. >> no? >> i don't really remember any boys, actually. >> reporter: megan wright did exactly what women are told they should do after a rape. immediately told a friend and went to the hospital. but according to her family, it did nothing to help her get justice on campus. when her mother arrived on campus that next day, they reported the incident to megan's resident adviser. and then the dean. but got little satisfaction. >> we saw him standing at his doorway, very nonchalant with his sandwich in his hand. like, who's bothering me? >> what did the dean say to all

of this? >> this is the first day of finals. the dean offered her no accommodations. she left her math final crying. she couldn't sit and take it. >> how was she over the summer? >> she wasn't great. she was traumatized. >> reporter: megan fell into a deep depression. desperate to return to her life at dominican, she was too afraid that the men who assaulted her were still on campus. but even though her alleged attackers had left dominican of their own accord, mcgrath says the school inexplicably never told megan. would she have gone back, do you think? >> i wouldn't have been able to stop her. >> in the fall did she hear from anyone at dominican college? >> no, nothing. >> a phone call from the dean? >> no. >> so she felt they dumped her. >> completely. they did dump her. >> reporter: believing her alleged rapists were still at dominican, megan quit school. at home, listless and sad, she tumbled into a downward spiral. and then the worst happened.

take me to december. >> she said, you know what, mom, i just want to lay down and take a nap. just for two hours. >> reporter: when her mother went to check on her, the door was locked. >> she wasn't answering. so i just grabbed like a tack or a paper clip or something and popped the lock open. then i realized there was a chair in front of the door. >> reporter: mcgrath pushed her way into the room and walked over to megan's bed. >> i put my hand on something. and it was a plastic bag. it was her head in the plastic bag. her head was in a plastic bag. i pulled the bag off and i started trying to shake her.

i called for someone and i told them to call 911. and i started trying to give her mouth to mouth. i was trying to get her to wake up. and i kept telling her, don't go. >> reporter: now cindy mcgrath is suing dominican college, alleging that it failed to properly conduct an investigation into megan's case. thereby violating title ix. no one from dominican college would agree to an interview, given the ongoing litigation. but the college did provide this statement to "nightline" through its attorney, saying they did immediately commence their own investigation and that they also provided megan with contacts to counseling services and an opportunity to delay her finals for several months. >> she had the most beautiful, beautiful eyes. >> reporter: cindy mcgrath said it is far too little, too late for a school that she says never sent condolences or even a representative to megan's funeral. >> they didn't show any

compassion or care. i mean, this is a young lady who even requested at one last effort to have a meeting with the president of the school. and to this day, we're still waiting for that phone call back. >> that was what year? >> that was may of 2006. >> that story's heartbreaking on every possible level. >> every possible level. just makes you want to go home, hold your kids a little tighter. it's tragic. it is, we should mention, dominican college, they also told abc while they're deeply saddened by megan's death they believe the court will find they acted appropriately. >> so horrible to listen to that story, why they didn't inform the family the alleged attackers had left campus and why they didn't have a representative at the funeral at the very least. so many parts of that story. we'll see how it plays out in court.

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"world news now" delivers your "morning papers." >> all kinds of good, fun stuff in today's edition for sure. >> all right. it is time to start your engines. you're always hearing how people want to make the fastest this and the fastest that. >> oh yeah. >> a few years ago we saw the fastest sofa. now an inventor, take a look, sitting right down there at the fast food table. apparently he's got the fastest table on record. he reached speeds of 130 miles an hour. >> whoa. >> average 113. i know, rob, you want to know what's under this table. >> yes, please. >> a 1994 reliant saber boosted by a nitrous oxide kit. >> he's actually underneath that table. i saw him. he's not actually -- the other one's seated at the table, like he's eating. he's under there driving that thing. >> you could fit that still. >> oh, man.

everyone has to have a hobby, yeah? >> apparently it's going to make it into the guinness world records once they get hold of it. >> good for him. it takes all types. thanks, willis. do you have one of those, willis? >> a big turkey dinner. >> ever had a bad breakup? we all have had a rough breakup. >> sure. >> again, i've never broken up in a way like this. this actually went down on youtube. this 53-year-old woman named kelly summers was very distraught after breaking up with her boyfriend, keith. as a way of therapy and coping with this tough breakup she goes on youtube and releases and gets all her emotions out here. over a month she made 62 videos and posted them. some were a minute, some were seven minutes. take a listen. >> i've just got to get angry. because i miss him so much. being at this park has been really hard. this was the park a few weeks ago he came down, made all the effort to drive down to.

>> clearly she was distraught. looked a little rough. but -- not to be mean. but really. anyway, she posted all these things. 11,000 people tuned in to check it out, including, who? the ex-boyfriend. he saw, he realized the hurt he had done, he said from the videos i knew i wanted to be with kelly, i could see how much she loved me, they made me realize how much i loved her too. >> happy ending. >> back together. happy ending there. oh, man. actually a happy ending in this next story too. this guy could have been hurt a lot worse. >> this is amazing. you have got to watch this video. there's an american footballer. here it is, boom! >> oh, man. >> he walks away from this head-on motor crash right here. take a look. he gets up, he walks away, a few cuts and b am morning.

>> get more from abc news, later